--- title: "Start Here: The IELTS Method" category: metodo --- # Start Here > *"I gathered hundreds of files and thousands of notes thinking that knowledge would come from volume. It didn't. What moved my score was simple structures and relentless repetition."* This is an honest page. It exists to correct one common mistake that many candidates make: confusing **accumulating material** with **actually improving**. If your bookmarks folder has 40 IELTS tabs — this page is for you. One thing to settle before anything else: **Academic or General Training?** They share the same Listening and Speaking, but Reading and Writing differ between them. If you're not sure which one you need, see [IELTS Logistics](ieltsdip-notes.html) — it has the full breakdown plus everything else administrative (booking, test day, scoring, results). --- ## The Problem With Collecting Information More notes do not equal more fluency. Fluency is a motor skill, like typing or driving. You can read every book ever written about driving and still be unable to parallel park. The only thing that teaches parallel parking is parallel parking — badly, then less badly, then well. IELTS is the same. Writing Task 2 is not about knowing the rules. It is about having written so many Task 2 essays under timed pressure that the structure falls out of your hands automatically when the clock starts. You do not need more material. You need a practice schedule. --- ## The Three Things That Actually Move Your Score ### 1. Structures You Own (Not Memorize) "Own" means: you can produce them without thinking, while also thinking about your content. **For Writing Task 2:** ``` Introduction: Rephrase the question + clear position statement. Body 1: Topic sentence → Explanation → Concrete example. Body 2: Topic sentence → Explanation → Concrete example. Conclusion: Restate your position. No new ideas. ``` That is it. Do not add more paragraphs. Do not add a counterargument paragraph unless you are writing a Discussion essay. Use that skeleton every single time until it is invisible. **For Writing Task 1 (Academic):** ``` Introduction: Paraphrase the question prompt. Overview: 2–3 key trends WITHOUT numbers. This goes SECOND, not last. Detail 1: Most important data group, with specific figures. Detail 2: Second group or time period, with comparisons. ``` **For Speaking Part 2:** ``` :00–:10 Name the topic + your direct answer. :10–:40 Story or example (past tense, specific details). :40–1:30 Expand: how/why/what happened next. 1:30–2:00 Reflect: what it meant to you. ``` → **[Base Structures](cat-errores.html)** → **[Writing](cat-writing.html)** → **[Speaking](cat-speaking.html)** → **[Drills](cat-drills.html)** --- ### 2. Knowing Where You Break Down Every candidate has a different failure pattern. Common ones: | Your Pattern | What It Looks Like | |:---|:---| | Tense collapse | You start in past tense, drift to present mid-paragraph | | Subject-verb error | "The data *show*" but you write "the data *shows*" or vice versa | | Preposition errors | "different *of*" / "depend *of*" / "responsible *of*" | | Lexical hedging | "very, very big increase" instead of "a sharp rise" | | Run-on sentences | Three clauses joined by "and, and, and" | You identify your pattern by **doing timed writing and reading it cold the next day**. Not by reading grammar rules. → **[Grammar Error Patterns](cat-errores.html)** --- ### 3. Exposure to Real English — Not IELTS English IELTS prep channels are useful for structure. They are **not** useful for ear training. Your ear needs to process natural speech from many accents, at natural speed, on topics that are not the IELTS exam. **Daily habits that move the needle:** - 15 minutes of English news reading (BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English) - 20–30 minutes of a podcast you actually find interesting — not an IELTS podcast - One YouTube video per day from a creator speaking a different English variety than your usual input **Variety of accents matters.** The IELTS Listening test will include British, Australian, North American, and non-native speakers. Train your ear for all of them. --- ## Official Mock Tests vs. Random Exercises We intentionally do not provide hundreds of fill-in-the-blank exercises on this site. Doing isolated grammar exercises creates a false sense of security. Instead, **your primary practice should be Official Cambridge IELTS Practice Tests (Books 1-18)**. - They are the exact difficulty of the real exam. - They test your stamina across 60-minute blocks. - They force you to handle the unpredictable nature of real test questions. --- ## Using AI to Grade Your Writing (With Caution) If you cannot afford a human tutor, you can use AI tools (like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) to evaluate your practice essays. However, **you must understand their limitations**: 1. **AI over-grades vocabulary:** AI tends to reward "big, fancy words" even if they are used unnaturally. A human examiner penalizes this. 2. **AI struggles with Task Achievement/Task Response:** The IELTS rubric is incredibly strict about whether you answered the *exact* question asked. AI often misses nuanced off-topic arguments. 3. **AI misses mechanical flow:** AI can correct grammar, but it struggles to tell you if your paragraph *flows* logically according to IELTS Coherence & Cohesion standards. **How to use AI properly:** Do not ask it "What band is this?" Instead, ask it specific mechanical questions: - *"Identify all the subject-verb agreement errors in this text."* - *"Find any prepositions I used incorrectly."* - *"Did I write a clear overview in the second paragraph?"* -> **[Read The Full AI Prompt Bank here](ai-prompt-bank.html)** Use AI as a spellchecker and grammar highlighter, not as an IELTS examiner. Use it to support your practice, not to replace official feedback or marking. --- ## A Realistic Practice Schedule | Day | Focus | |:---|:---| | Mon | Write one full Task 2 essay (40 min, timed). Mark it yourself with the band descriptors. | | Tue | Describe one Task 1 chart (20 min, timed). Focus on overview placement. | | Wed | Speaking Part 2: choose a random cue card, record yourself for 2 min. Listen back. | | Thu | Read one article aloud. Note vocabulary you couldn't produce spontaneously. | | Fri | Do one full Listening section (Cambridge Practice Test). | | Sat | Full mock test — one complete Writing paper (Task 1 + Task 2, 60 min). | | Sun | Rest. Or watch something in English you actually enjoy. | That is six working days of 30–60 minutes each. If you are consistent, it compounds. If you skip four days and binge-study on Sunday, it doesn't. --- ## The Files on This Site What you will find here is a reference library — not a course or a substitute for official materials. | Section | What it contains | |:---|:---| | **[Base](cat-errores.html)** | Core structures and grammar foundations | | **[Writing](cat-writing.html)** | Task 1 and Task 2 structures, model answers, practice tasks | | **[Speaking](cat-speaking.html)** | Part 1/2/3 frameworks, model answers, cue card practice | | **[Drills](cat-drills.html)** | Conjugation drills, audio transcripts, timed exercises | | **[About](cat-sobre.html)** | Philosophy, external resources, best educators | Use what you need. Don't read everything. The goal is not to finish the site — the goal is to be in the exam room feeling prepared, while still working from official tests and external sources. --- ## One Final Thing You are going to make mistakes in the exam. So does everyone. The examiner expects this. A Band 7 response has errors. A Band 8 response has errors. What a Band 8 response does is **recover quickly, keep moving, and not let one stumble become a collapse**. That recovery instinct comes from practice. Not from knowing more rules. **Now close this tab and go write something.**